How much to charge for deck staining
Deck staining is priced per square foot, and that is exactly why it gets underbid — railings hold most of the labour and almost none of the square footage.
Below: the published wage for this work, why your billing rate has to be well above it, how this job is actually priced, and what moves the number. Put your own rate into the generator and you get a real itemized estimate built on it.
Generate this estimate now
Describe the job in plain words. No email needed to see your first estimate — about fifteen seconds for a small job, a little longer for a big one.
What you get — see the format first
A complete estimate you can send to the customer, built from the rate you enter:
| Description | Qty | Unit | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor — itemized by task | hrs | hour | your rate | — |
| Materials — with your markup applied | qty | ea / sq ft | cost + markup | — |
| Permits, disposal, access | — | — | — | — |
Plus a plain-English scope summary, assumptions (what had to be guessed), exclusions (what you are not doing — the section that prevents most change-order arguments), and a validity period. Printable, or send the link.
Every figure comes from the rate and markup you supply. We never fill in a market price for you.
How deck staining is priced
The deck floor is measured in square feet and priced at a straightforward rate. Railings are the trap: a run of balusters can take as long as the entire deck surface while adding very little area, so railing is priced separately, usually per linear foot of rail. Stripping or sanding an old finish is its own line item, estimated in crew-hours, and is frequently a larger number than the staining itself.
What the labor actually costs
$23.75/hour — US median wage for painters, construction and maintenance, May 2025 ($49,400/year).
That is a wage, not your billing rate. It excludes payroll burden, insurance, the hours you spend driving and quoting, overhead and profit. Billing at or near it means working the job for free once those land — which is where underpricing starts. What your multiplier should be depends on your business, so put the rate you actually bill into the generator and every line prices from your number.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — national median, May 2025. Wages vary widely by metro.
What moves the number
- Whether there is an existing finish to strip, and whether it is failing evenly or in patches
- Baluster count and style — turned or decorative spindles are far slower than square ones
- Number of levels, stairs and built-in benches; stairs are slow per square foot
- Wood species and age; weathered or fuzzy boards need sanding before anything else
- Solid stain versus semi-transparent, which changes both coverage and how much prep shows through
- Whether the underside, skirting and fascia are included — decide this in writing before you quote
- Drying windows between cleaning, stripping and coating, which set the calendar as much as the labour
How deck staining gets underpriced
- One square-foot rate covering both deck and railings, so the railing labour is effectively free
- Quoting from a photo without checking whether the old finish is a film that must come off
- Forgetting stairs, which have tread, riser and stringer surfaces the plan view never shows
- Not pricing the cleaning and brightening step as its own labour
- Assuming one coat when the wood is thirsty enough to need two
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How to estimate
How to write a contractor estimate · Estimate vs quote vs bid — and which one you should send · What to include in a contractor estimate · How to price a job as a contractor · Should you charge for estimates? · How to follow up on an estimate · How to handle change orders · Estimate vs invoice: what's the difference? · How to raise your prices as a contractor